The Battle for Football Supremacy: Parisian Powerhouse vs Dortmund Dynamo

Dortmund go into the champions league semi final against PSG after a rough defeat to RB Leipzig (1-4) in the Bundesliga while PSG were crowned Ligue 1 champions over the weekend. The two teams faced each other in the group stage of the Champions League where Dortmund  topped the group followed by PSG. In the two matches they played against each other in the group, PSG won one game and the other game ended as a draw.

Dortmund are set to be in their first Champions League Semi final for 11 years since they faced Bayern Munich in an all German final. Dortmund overcame Atletico Madrid 5-4 on aggregate to progress to the semi final.

PSG also defeated Barcelona in the quarter final 6-4 on aggregate in order for them to progress to the semi finals as well.

Dortmund will be without Ramy Bensebaibi due to a knee injury and  Sebastien Haller due to an ankle issue. PSG will be without Presnel Kimpembe, Sergio Rico and Layvin Kurzawa.

Despite PSG being one of the richest clubs in the world, they have never won a Champions League trophy. It’s been no secret that winning the most prestigious club competition in football has been the ultimate aim since the takeover of  PSG back in 2011  by Qatar Sports Investments with  €2.04bn spent. But could there luck change this time round ?

Kylian Mbappé who is destined to join Real Madrid will be targetting for the ultimate parting gift before leaving PSG. The French superstar helped PSG into the Champions League semi final by scoring twice against Barcelona. The Parisians last reached the Champions League final in 2020 but were defeated by Bayern Munich and this is only the third time they have reached the semi finals under the Qatari owernship.

Luis Enrique the PSG manager said the following during the press conference;

I think this tie will be similar to the quarter finals. We’re not a cagey team, Dortmund is the same. We are going to try and win this match with our football. I think it will be spectacular, there will definitely be goals given the ability of both teams to create chances. We are improving, we are at the start of our project. There is one month left of the season and we are still in all competitions. We will have to manage these emotions, handle the pressure and be ambitious. We can’t start to see the pressure as a threat.We have progressed in all aspects, defensively and offensively, but we can still get better. That’s our way of managing the group, to be demanding of the players. We have shown character to overcome difficult moments where we were losing games, showing our character. The line between victory and defeat in this competition is very thin, I am sure all the details will count in this confrontation. All teams have weaknesses, but I always think my team is the best. We aren’t perfect, we have lost matches this season, but our objective is to play matches where we are the best team. If we manage to set the pace of the game and keep the ball from Dortmund, we will cause them problems.